Month: May 2015

Recently. I caught up with Apprentice Baz Anderson of Jackie Rankin‘s Cohort. I asked him about his work with Pantraits, or panoramic portraits, as well as his time in The Arcanum. Have you tried anything like a pantrait? Are you going to? Let me know in the comments.

T: Who’s cohort are you in? How has your experience been in The Arcanum so far? Has it met your expectations?

B: I am a member of Jackie Rankin’s Cohort and my experience with The Arcanum to date has been nothing short of great. With their support and encouragement I have been re-energized as a photographer, I guess I burned out a little from the commercialism.

T: How long have you been photographing? How did you get started? What do you love to shoot?

B: I have been photographing since the mid sixties (1960′s), golly that’s 50 years :), My Dad was a wedding photographer so I was introduced to the wet darkroom in my early teens. I traveled overseas with cameras in my twenties and really became hooked, returning to Australia in 1978 and studied Visual Arts at Sydney College. Upon graduating, I started my own Photographic business which ran for 21 years. I have always seen the world as a sea of faces, so I photograph people. I love shooting portraits.

T: What is a Pantrait? What inspired your first one?

B: A Pantrait is a panoramic portrait, a word created by a friend Peter Lance, who penned the following:

Pantrait (panoramic portraiture)
“with these digitized panoramas Anderson renews the portrait, traditionally a record of status, wealth and identity. Anderson invites the viewer, his subjects and other photographers to question their personal construction of identity; and their place in this ritualized activity composed of photograph, recognition and exhibition. As we glimpse the fragility and majesty of these domesticated beings, are we reassured that we stand in the company of those who value meaningful contribution, and the search for meaning?”

My first pantrait came about through investigating software and seeing just how far the stitching technique (pano) had come. I was looking to explode my portraiture with a larger narrative so these two (pano & portraits) seemed a natural fit. I had always seen the sitter’s surrounding environment to be telling as well, and a further opportunity to multi expose the sitter, thereby telling even more about themselves. So that thought was the inspiration for the first of many.

T: What makes a perfect Pantrait to you?

B: When it all stitches together in post production to match the pre-visualization I had to start with. Yes!

T: What do you consider before shooting?

B: The personality of my subject, their activities and their environment and with this how to create a narrative.

T: What gear / software do you use for your Pantraits?

B: Currently using the Panasonic Lumix GH3 with their kit lenses and a RRL Pano Rail, along with my iMac, Lightroom and Photoshop. The full exhibition of Pantraits can be seen at www.jbarryandersonphotography.smugmug.com

If you are in Sydney, Australia you can catch an exhibition of Baz’s work until 31 May at the Head On photo festival.

About the Image:

Bob McTavish
Surfboard Manufacturer, Byron Bay
Once a teenage stowaway to Hawaii, Bob is now a surfing legend. Attributed as being the initiator of the short board revolution, he has spent his life designing and developing the surfboard. Even now at 70 years of age, his passion continues to push the envelope, in a huge international industry.

There are days – many days actually – as an artist where I can’t seem to find the inspiration to create. It could be the weather, it could be lack of sleep (although that is almost a constant), it could be any number of things. Whatever the reason, the camera stays tucked away and the computer screen (my canvas) stays blank.

How do I get out of this funk? It is quite simple actually. I look around.

Yep, just around the house, or wherever I happen to be. OK, it is a bit more than just looking – you have to look at things with fresh eyes, as if you’ve never seen any of the things around you before.

Look for colors you may not have not noticed before. Try to see patterns or shapes in the ordinary. See the way the light illuminates and shades the mundane. Heck, pretend you are a famous impressionist painter looking for your next masterpiece still life – whatever works for you!

The point is, the great images – photos, paintings, whatever – are always there. All you need to do is see them.

What do you do when you’re stuck for inspiration? Let us know in the comments.

My goal, my calling, if you will, is to help others make photographs – make works of art – that are filled with who they are. What the subject is, is not as important as what the subject is saying – the STORY, the mood, the emotion. Without that, a photograph is just a snapshot. I’m a 3D animator/motion graphics artist by trade, shooting photos all the while. Texas born and raised, now in Milwaukee, I’m married and have a little toddler running around the house.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
— Pablo Picasso

Have you ever seen a piece of art that struck you, emotionally.

You want to create something like that, that can pull that emotion in someone else.

You want to dig deeper into yourself, to better understand your own voice, but you haven’t found it yet. You want to understand how other artists are able to do this.

You will learn to find, develop your voice, and evoke these emotions in others.

On the surface, The Arcanum seems to be about education, learning Art and Photography. And yes, those skills and knowledge are valuable. But skills and knowledge are but a byproduct of what The Arcanum truly provides. The Arcanum is about inspiration and experiences that enable us to be the best that we can be. The Arcanum considers Creating and Connecting as two of the most basic of needs for humans, right along side of air, food, water, and shelter. The act of creating produces Art – no matter how big or small. Therefore The Arcanum believes that creating Art is a critical, essential, non-negotiable part of life.

When we don’t create we stop growing, we atrophy, we wither. We lose our drive and ability to connect and lack content to share.

When we don’t connect we can’t share our creations, our thoughts, our aspirations, dreams, fears. We become isolated. Isolation inhibits our creativity and we slip into a downward spiral.

“I feel more free, free to produce great images, free to produce some that flop, and to learn from both. Free to have fun, to learn, to expand my “style,” to try new things, and I am loving it!!!”
— Kyle Van Etten, Apprentice

Without creativity and connectivity we experience a void and an emptiness that can’t be filled with anything else other than our own creations. No material thing or anyone else can fill this void – they can only help create the environment, conditions and experience for us to do it ourselves.

Many of us are stuck on this precipice – on the brink of creativity and connectedness. Teetering on the edge producing middling creations that barely fill the void with little more than a trickle. Some of us will never tip toward the creative. Most of us just need a nudge. The Arcanum provides that nudge by connecting you with a Master who believes in you, trusts you, but also challenges you. Within The Arcanum – There is no veil to hide behind. No curriculum, lesson plan, standardized tests or any such thing. Our goals define our path and the Masters are responsible for guiding each of us along that path. Sometimes the Masters provide instruction, on a basic principle for example. Most of the time the Master is the coach, the mentor, the advisor – asking questions that create clarity needed to unlock the creative nature inside of each of us.

“It’s like falling in love I guess you could say. At first, your all excited, almost borderline jittery, and everything is new and wonderful. It’s a whole new world because you begin to see the world and everything in it a little differently. You look more, you see more, colors seem more vibrant, your carrying your camera around with you literally everywhere, you feel happy and alive! The passion that you had for photography is basically smothered in lighter fluid and then ignited or re-ignited.”
— Molly Kate, Apprentice

The Arcanum finally gives us the transparency we need, the environment to be vulnerable, produce the creations that are already inside of us and share them with family, friends and the world. In doing so we understand our own goals and the path to accomplishing them becomes clear.